Tuesday, February 3, 2015

What have I
been reading lately? A book on the Marquis de Sade. I got the itch after seeing
a couple of friends in a performance of the play Venus In Fur, inspired by the novel written by Leopold von
Sacher-Masoch (from who we get the word masochism),
deciding to check out the primary representative of the other end of the
spectrum of perversions, the man from whom we get the word sadism. I’d read some of De Sade’s work previously, notably his 100 days of Sodom, which I had to stop
reading way before the hundred days were up. I’d seen the excellent film
starring Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis, Quills.
But that was as far as my knowledge
extended. (Oh, and the Hammer Studios Horror classic The Skull, wherein the protagonist, portrayed by Peter Cushing, is
driven insane after coming into possession of the De Sade’s skull.) I didn’t really want to know any more about him,
as his views, and his work, are rather disturbing, even for an aficionado of
abnormal psychology such as myself. Sade was evil, I figured. There wasn’t much
else to know.

Actually, there
was. I may have misjudged the man. He was
demented, I think, but instead of the black-and-white image I bore of his
character—all black—the real man existed in shades of gray. Fifty shades? Probably
more than that. (I hate to make any reference to that abominable book and
forthcoming guaranteed-to-be-abominable movie, but as it is a novel featuring
the practice of S&M, it’s appropriate.)

Here’s the
skinny: De Sade believed that, beneath the veneer of civilized man, there existed
a natural, instinctive and undeniable tendency towards cruelty, violence and
aggression. He maintained that this ugly inner beastie (Think of Freud’s
infamous Id, or of Donald Pleasance’s
lines in Halloween 2: “Samhain is the
unconscious mind. Every man is afraid of the dark inside himself.” I’m
paraphrasing. ) is going to inevitably burst through at some time or other,
that this is true of every man, and that the results will negatively affect
society as a whole. I agree with this. But, rather than try to expurgate this
primal tendency, which De Sade said was a futile pursuit, he argued that a man
should find a way to release it in a “less destructive” manner, through sex. If
a man unleashes his cruelties in the bedroom, De Sade claimed, he’d be able to
keep them from showing forth in the world at large. It’s a little dangerous, a
slippery slope—where do you draw the line?—but it’s an interesting theory
nonetheless. Does it work? I sincerely doubt it, though it seemed to work for
De Sade, at least insofar as he never killed anyone, was in fact a staunch
opponent of killing. He even suffered himself as a direct result of trying to
save the life of the one person on earth he had every reason to hate, his implacable
lifelong enemy, his mother-in-law. When she was threatened with the guillotine
during the Terror of the French Revolution and De Sade spoke out in her defense,
he was sentenced to prison for being “too lenient” and thus not patriotic
enough for the new psycho regime.

Of course he
also got sentenced to prison for injuringwomen during sex, so I’m not saying we should call the guy a hero, just
that his was a way more interesting mind than I had previously given him credit
for possessing.

If you have
any interests in the subject,--or if you want to give your inner perv a little
more leash—read Justine or The 100 days of Sodom instead of Fifty Shades. They aren’t any more
disheartening, and are better written.